'Kids growing up in very protected OFFline world, while they're not protected ONline'

Warnings about the effects on children and young adults of too much, and inappropriate screen exposure, have been coming thick and fast in recent years.

But a shift is happening as we reach the 'Smartphone Tipping Point', according to local online platform Be in Touch.

This screen exposure is being linked more conclusively to the declining mental and physical health of this generation of tweens and teens, concludes an article on their website.

And, as a part of this shift, what is also coming to the fore is the vital role that schools have to play in providing and ensuring smartphone-free classrooms.

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Be in Touch founder Kate Farina says it's mainly thanks to a book by social psychologist Jonathan Haidt - The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness.

"Haidt shares a lot of the research that has come out, really since 2010... since this generation of children has really been growing up on phones and on tablets, and basically a shift from a play-based childhood to a device-based childhood."

Kate Farina, Founder - Be in Touch

One of the issues that comes to light is how children are being over-protected in the real world, and under-protected online.

This has actually led to a huge drop in 'natural' dopamine during the teenage years, Farina says.

"Giving them that dopamine hit, is usually going out and taking risks to learn skills. It's designed to help teenagers or humans learn basic life skills that they need. What we've seen is a short circuit happening, where it's far easier just to reach into your pocket and grab that device and get that hit."

"We've had kids growing up in a very protected offline world, but being completely unprotected online because parents just don't know what's happening there - they're not always empowered and upskilled to put the right safety settings and parental controls on those devices, so you've got this huge dichotomy where children straddle two very different worlds." 

Kate Farina, Founder - Be in Touch

Scroll up to listen to this fascinating conversation and click here to read the article